OUR VIEW: Cell phones are killing us; it's time to act

Tuesday

Feb 26, 2019 at 7:01 AM

Statistics show the risk of a fatal crash goes up by some 66 percent while drivers are handling phones.

You should not fiddle with your phone while you're driving.

Statistics show the risk of a fatal crash goes up by some 66 percent while drivers are handling phones. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a non-profit group, estimated that 800 people died on the highways in 2017 as a result of drivers using their phones.

The risk increases, the Institute reports, when drivers are trying to text or email or scan their messages rather than just talking on their phones.

There ought to be a law. And soon, in North Carolina, there just might be.

A bipartisan group of N.C. House members has introduced HB 144, a bill that would put penalties on phone use behind the wheel -- what traffic folks call distracted driving. Drivers could get a $100 fine for using a phone while driving. If they're caught doing it again within three years, they could face a $150 fine and one point assessed on their auto insurance.

The bill allows some common-sense exceptions. Drivers can talk while parked. Those over 18 can also use a phone as long as it’s hitched to some sort of mount. It wouldn’t apply to drivers in emergencies or facing mechanical problems and it doesn’t apply to emergency responders.

HB 144 has the backing of AAA Carolinas, which argues that statistics underplay the number of fatalities caused by distracted driving. In 2017, North Carolina had 102 traffic deaths resulting from rear-end collisions, and 733 deaths in collisions resulting from lane changes. Both these kinds of crashes often result from distracted driving.

South Carolina and Georgia are both debating their own versions of hands-free driving bills, so you can tell this is not some wild-eyed Yankee notion. This is plain common sense.

And for those drivers lacking in aforesaid common sense, get the law after them. They are putting us all at risk.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.